A transcript of the sound file of Farzad Kamangar’s unpublished letter to his lover

Farzad Kamangar was an elementary school teacher and nonviolent civil liberties advocate from Iranian Kurdistan who was detained by security forces in 2006 and accused of collaborating with Kurdish opposition groups. Charged with being a mohareb or “enemy of God,” Kamangar refused to confess in spite of four years of detention and torture, while his letters from his cell led international organizations like UNICEF and Education International to condemn his imprisonment. He wrote the following letter from his cell at Evin Prison, north of Tehran, a few months before his execution on May 9th, 2010. It has been sent to the Kurdish news website NNS ROJ website for publication.

Hello again, my darling!

When you asked me what I would like you to play for me, I got stuck for a moment. I went silent, turned everything upside down in my mind in order to find a song which could best express my feelings after so many months spent away from you.

I wanted to pick the most beautiful and romantic song ever written. Before I even spoke a word, you played that sweet song “Maryam” for me, with all its beauty, so that the phone lines brought all of your feeling and passion into my heart alongside that song.

The question you asked and the song you played gave me an excuse to write this heartfelt letter. I know it will be opened and closed many times, but I hope that it will, eventually, reach your hands and that you will be its final reader.

My sweetheart, every song that I thought of had something to do with the gallows, a last kiss, cruel oppression, the arm of injustice, being hunted by tyranny, or a mother’s tears.

I feared that your fingers, when they touched so many words overflowing with pain, might stop playing, so I started searching among the songs of my motherland. I realized that our music had traces of blood, the smell of lead, and the marks of bootprints too. Once again, I feared that your eyes might fill with tears and that your hands would refuse to let your fingers play.

I decided to ask you to write your own song, either with lyrics or an instrumental, something filled to the brim with hope. Not a stolen song; a song we wouldn’t have to murmur to ourselves, one that wouldn’t put us behind bars, a song that doesn’t fill our eyes with tears when we sing it or glue our eyes to the picture hanging on the wall, one that doesn’t make us cry and sob. A song that we could sing around the Nowrooz [New Year’s] fire as loud as we can, hand in hand, dancing to it, laughing with it, singing it.

Just don’t forget: write the notes for a little girl who likes to call her mother “dâyeh” and women “jen”[1]. What a shame… she doesn’t know that tomorrow, when she becomes a mother herself, they will search her womb in hopes that the child belongs to the “first gender.” A little girl in a country where women, to secure their most basic rights, have to go to prison.

Write for that little girl who, when stepping into her adulthood, will have to go from jail to jail in search of her lost love, hastily looking up lists of names posted at the entrance, searching for the one which belongs to her beloved.

Write the notes of your song for a little boy who likes to say “tchûrak” for bread and “sû” for water[2]. What a shame… he doesn’t know that there is no word and no language which can bring prosperity to his working father’s bare table.

Write your notes for his father’s callused hands, for his mother’s diminishing eyesight. Write a song that will bring good news of bread, not one that will remind him of the poverty and the long years of injustice marking his life.

Write a poem for the mother who has long been waiting, her eyes riveted to the door, for her son to return. A mother who, every Thursday, away from others’ scrutinizing eyes, embraces the unknown tomb of her loved one, a mother who has put the sun to shame with all the patience and loyalty she has shown.

Write it for a father for whom the sight of every lonely cedar is a reminder of the solitude and alienation of the cemetery which has long held his child, a cemetery which he sees from afar and where he secretly yearns for the opportunity to break down in tears, for once, on the tomb of his own son.

Write a poem for a sister whose hope to see her brother’s wedding day still weighs on her, a sister whose eyes become clouded with tears when the singing and the celebrating from other people’s wedding ceremonies resonate in her every Friday, making her look up to the wall to stare at the dust-covered picture of her brother while her eyes grow misty.

My sweet darling! With me or without me, go back to our homeland. Don’t blame me for loving it without end. Believe me when I say that, for me, our country is just one part of this world. We have no intention of building a wall around it, and we don’t intend to isolate it from the rest of the world, but the grievances and the pain suffered by its people make it their belonging to this land all the sweeter. This pain has become part of our arteries and roots over the years; it is born alongside the inhabitants of our land.

Let your song be made there. Let the bitter taste of poverty be its rhythm and the hope for an equal world its beat.

There, in the midst of the mountains and oak forests that have been our people’s only friend and supporter, on the banks of rivers carrying the unshed tears of our people from the depths of the mountains out to remote seas, sit down and write your song.

There, with or without me, in the midst of all that beauty and glory which is the link of our attachment to this country, in the heart of a land forever pregnant with pain and whose children grow up only to suffer; sit down there, touch the earth in my stead, and write your song, a song which you will murmur in its ears:

After tension broke out at Ward 350 of Evin prison, special guards units were sent to the ward and 10 political prisoners were moved to Ward 240 solitary confinement on the direct order of Tehran Prosecutor General.

Following this illegal demand by the Deputy Warden, prisoners protesting this illegal order, and in support of their chosen representative, chanted slogans and sang anthems in the public area of the Ward.

After tension broke out at Ward 350 of Evin prison, special guards units were sent to the ward and 10 political prisoners were moved to Ward 240 solitary confinement on the direct order of Tehran Prosecutor General.

The prisoners were demanding the dismissal of Deputy Warden Momeni, and halting of his interference with the Ward 350 affairs.

Also, the prisoners’ chanting of “Death to the dictator” resulted in the Special Units guards being sent to the Ward and threats made against the prisoners

In recent weeks, Ward 350 prisoners’ representative, Saeed Madani had voiced prisoners’ complaints regarding the inappropriate treatment of prisoners, the state of the prison store, it’s financial mismanagement and irregularities, and repeated insults by officials in the visiting room.

According to the latest report, these ten political prisoners, in addition to being placed in solitary confinement, are now also banned from visits. These prisoners have threatened to launch a hunger strike if the situation is not remedied.

All other political prisoners have also threatened to stop going to the visiting room if this situation continues as is.

The Prosecutor General’s representative and officials from the Intelligence Ministry were present at the meeting between the prisoners’ representatives and the prison officials and explicitly said that the Prosecutor had ordered the protesting prisoners be punished.

(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has criticized the European Parliament for going forward with a trip to Iran despite the country’s refusal to allow the parliament’s delegation to meet with two human rights prizewinners.

In 2012, Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Then, a planned European Parliament delegation visit to Iran was canceled because the Iranian government refused to let the delegation meet with the two winners and give them their prize. Now, the European Parliament has dropped the requirement to meet with the two winners, allowing the visit to take place without the meeting. On Friday, Tarja Cronberg of Finland, the chair of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran, as well as Vice Chair Cornelia Ernst of Germany, plan to arrive in Tehran.

Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, said in a statement that the European Parliament “rightly, albeit belatedly, recognized the struggle for human rights in Iran last December by choosing two courageous Iranian activists to receive the prestigious Sakharov Prize.”

By removing the requirement to meet with the winners, the European Parliament is “completely undermining the powerful human rights message that the award sent to Iran’s oppressive, internationally isolated leadership,” Schwammenthal added.

“By letting the regime effectively dictate who they can and cannot meet, the European delegation visit will be nothing more than a propaganda tool for Tehran, which will present it as ‘evidence’ that the Islamic Republic is far from being isolated… The grave human rights situation in Iran requires a strong, united response from the European Union, not photo-ops with the repressors themselves,” he said.

(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has criticized the European Parliament for going forward with a trip to Iran despite the country’s refusal to allow the parliament’s delegation to meet with two human rights prizewinners.

Click photos to download. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought along with Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. However, Iran has refused to allow an EU delegation to meet with the men. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

In 2012, Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Then, a planned European Parliament delegation visit to Iran was canceled because the Iranian government refused to let the delegation meet with the two winners and give them their prize. Now, the European Parliament has dropped the requirement to meet with the two winners, allowing the visit to take place without the meeting. On Friday, Tarja Cronberg of Finland, the chair of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran, as well as Vice Chair Cornelia Ernst of Germany, plan to arrive in Tehran.

Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, said in a statement that the European Parliament “rightly, albeit belatedly, recognized the struggle for human rights in Iran last December by choosing two courageous Iranian activists to receive the prestigious Sakharov Prize.”

By removing the requirement to meet with the winners, the European Parliament is “completely undermining the powerful human rights message that the award sent to Iran’s oppressive, internationally isolated leadership,” Schwammenthal added.

“By letting the regime effectively dictate who they can and cannot meet, the European delegation visit will be nothing more than a propaganda tool for Tehran, which will present it as ‘evidence’ that the Islamic Republic is far from being isolated… The grave human rights situation in Iran requires a strong, united response from the European Union, not photo-ops with the repressors themselves,” he said.

(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has criticized the European Parliament for going forward with a trip to Iran despite the country’s refusal to allow the parliament’s delegation to meet with two human rights prizewinners.

Click photos to download. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought along with Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. However, Iran has refused to allow an EU delegation to meet with the men. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

In 2012, Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Then, a planned European Parliament delegation visit to Iran was canceled because the Iranian government refused to let the delegation meet with the two winners and give them their prize. Now, the European Parliament has dropped the requirement to meet with the two winners, allowing the visit to take place without the meeting. On Friday, Tarja Cronberg of Finland, the chair of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran, as well as Vice Chair Cornelia Ernst of Germany, plan to arrive in Tehran.

Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, said in a statement that the European Parliament “rightly, albeit belatedly, recognized the struggle for human rights in Iran last December by choosing two courageous Iranian activists to receive the prestigious Sakharov Prize.”

By removing the requirement to meet with the winners, the European Parliament is “completely undermining the powerful human rights message that the award sent to Iran’s oppressive, internationally isolated leadership,” Schwammenthal added.

“By letting the regime effectively dictate who they can and cannot meet, the European delegation visit will be nothing more than a propaganda tool for Tehran, which will present it as ‘evidence’ that the Islamic Republic is far from being isolated… The grave human rights situation in Iran requires a strong, united response from the European Union, not photo-ops with the repressors themselves,” he said.

BBC News – World: Members of the Cuban opposition group Ladies in White are due to collect the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Brussels.

They were awarded the prize by the European Parliament in 2005, but Cuba barred them from leaving the communist-run island to collect it.

The abolition of exit permits by the Cuban government in January has made it possible for the women to travel.

They were given the prize for their campaign to free 75 jailed dissidents.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by the European Parliament to individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom. It is named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.

In 2012, it went to Iranian activists Jafar Panahi and Nasrin Sotoudeh.

The Ladies in White was founded by the wives, sisters and friends of the 75 jailed Cuban activists, who were rounded up and sentenced to long prison terms in 2003 as part of a crackdown on the opposition movement.

Dressed in white, the women march in silence in the Cuban capital, Havana, every Sunday, defying Cuba’s ban on organised opposition and street demonstrations.

They are routinely detained and their protests broken up, but they say their protests have yielded results. All 75 prisoners they campaigned for have been released.

The Ladies continue their protest, now demanding that the convictions of the 75 be officially overturned.

They say that until that happens, the dissidents could be arrested if the government deems they have reoffended.

Fifteen of the 75 remain in Cuba, the rest took up an offer by the Spanish government to move there.

The women also want to draw attention to other dissidents who they say are still jailed for their political views.

‘No change’

Lady in White Laura Labrada told the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Havana that they still suffered harassment at the hands of the Cuban police.

“The arrests continue. It’s true the time in detention is less, but we’re still repressed, still detained – and in big numbers. Just for thinking differently… This has not changed,” she said.

The Cuban authorities say that the group is in the pay of the United States and forms part of Washington’s “decades-old effort to undermine Cuba’s socialist revolution”.

Members of the Cuban opposition group Ladies in White are due to collect the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Brussels.

They were awarded the prize by the European Parliament in 2005, but Cuba barred them from leaving the communist-run island to collect it.

The abolition of exit permits by the Cuban government in January has made it possible for the women to travel.

They were given the prize for their campaign to free 75 jailed dissidents.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by the European Parliament to individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom. It is named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.

In 2012, it went to Iranian activists Jafar Panahi and Nasrin Sotoudeh.

The Ladies in White was founded by the wives, sisters and friends of the 75 jailed Cuban activists, who were rounded up and sentenced to long prison terms in 2003 as part of a crackdown on the opposition movement.

Dressed in white, the women march in silence in the Cuban capital, Havana, every Sunday, defying Cuba’s ban on organised opposition and street demonstrations.

They are routinely detained and their protests broken up, but they say their protests have yielded results. All 75 prisoners they campaigned for have been released.

The Ladies continue their protest, now demanding that the convictions of the 75 be officially overturned.

They say that until that happens, the dissidents could be arrested if the government deems they have reoffended.

Fifteen of the 75 remain in Cuba, the rest took up an offer by the Spanish government to move there.

The women also want to draw attention to other dissidents who they say are still jailed for their political views.

‘No change’

Lady in White Laura Labrada told the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Havana that they still suffered harassment at the hands of the Cuban police.

“The arrests continue. It’s true the time in detention is less, but we’re still repressed, still detained – and in big numbers. Just for thinking differently… This has not changed,” she said.

The Cuban authorities say that the group is in the pay of the United States and forms part of Washington’s “decades-old effort to undermine Cuba’s socialist revolution”.

Ms Labrada will be collecting the prize on behalf of her mother, co-founder of the Ladies in White Laura Pollan, who died in 2011.

She will be joined by three other Ladies in White at the ceremony in the European Parliament in Brussels.

In 1995 Jafar Panahi received a Golden Camera in Cannes for his film “The White Balloon“. In the year 2000 he won a Golden Lion in Venice for “The Circle“ and was awarded a Silver Bear in 2006 for “Offside“. In Dubai his documentary “This is not a Film“ (2011) was voted best documentary film in the Asian and African market. In 2012 he was furthermore awarded with the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament for freedom of thought followed by another Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2013 for his film “Parde“.

Panahi was arrested twice throughout the protest movements following the presidential election in 2009. He was sentenced to six years of incarceration and a twenty-year occupational ban. He is no longer allowed to leave the country nor conduct interviews with the local and foreign press. Numerous filmmakers have spoken up for his release from prison, such as Michael Moore, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Abbas Kiarostami and Juliette Binoche.

The Iranian musician and composer Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, thrilling the press and audiences all over the world with his unique style, has also received numerous national and international awards for his musical works.

Mortazavi was deeply shocked by the news about Panahi’s arrest. In the light of these grotesque verdicts he sought to overcome his initial helplessness by the force of his creativity. He was able to fathom the rhythm of Panahi’s heart from prison, sensing the emotions of an artist who cannot express himself freely.

In order to express the calling of Panahi’s heart for artistic freedom through his instrument, he surmounted numerous obstacles to record the imprisoned filmmaker’s actual heartbeat in Iran. Lead by Panahi’s heartbeat he traces Panahi’s anguish, his sorrow and his determination to break through constraints and limitiations. Mortazavi acconpanies Panahi’s heartbeat, he contributes to the actual beating of the heart by playing on top of it and dwelling in the musical colours of the moment.

And he knows: “Revolution comes from within“.

He is performing twenty minutes for twenty years of occupational ban replaying the original sound of Panahi’s heartbeat followed by a tweny-minute performance on his instrument the tombak, dedicated to the filmmaker’s freedom and the release of his creative forces.

Mortazavi insists Panahi to be the center of the project while he remains in the background. He does not however entirely manage to hide behind Panahi’s heartbeat. Nestling up against the rhythms of the heart, he is setting Panahi’s spirit and soul into motion. Playing at alternating speed, ranging from soft and slow to frenetically rapid sequences of sound, he stirs up his audience’s core to awaken their spirits.

All artists who participated in “Project – 20″ worked on honorary basis.

Reza Khandan: “I am not worried about her eyeglasses. I am worried that, God forbid, there might have been damage to her eyes,” Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband Reza Khandan told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“Each time I see her, she is using eyeglasses that are thicker than the last time. So far, no matter how much we have tried to take her to an eye specialist outside the prison, we have not succeeded. A few times we made doctor’s appointments, but she was not allowed to leave. Now, when she comes to a prison visit, I see that she is wearing eyeglasses with a high prescription, like old men. I am not worried about her eyeglasses. I am worried that, God forbid, there might have been damage to her eyes,” Khandan told the Campaign.

“Before going to prison, she was only using reading glasses, but after her first hunger strike two years ago, her vision problems started, and recently this problem intensified after her latest hunger strike,” he said.

“Her eyesight is measured in the prison infirmary, and then we are given a prescription to get the eyeglasses from the outside, and so far her prescription has changed several times,” Reza Khandan told the Campaign, adding that he could not remember Sotoudeh’s prescription prior to her imprisonment.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle, on April 14 Nasrin Sotoudeh became an honorary member and advisor to the board of trustees of the International Society for Human Rights in Germany.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist who has represented many political, women’s rights, and student activists, was initially sentenced to 11 years in prison, 20 years’ ban on practicing law, and 20 years’ ban on foreign travel on charges of “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” An appeals court later shortened her prison sentence to six years.